After I got back from my road trip, I was planning on writing a summary post. Well, here I am a month later and I’m just writing it now, on a 13+ hour flight from San Francisco to Taipei. Better late than never?

First, I have to say how thankful and lucky I was to have everything work out with timing, meeting up with friends and family, as well as not having anything major happen on the trip. In retrospect, maybe it was a little naive to think that after 11 years of not driving much or owning a car, I would then drive over 11,000 miles in 3 months. Thankfully, I found the long drives tolerable, as long as I wasn’t doing them often.

Here are some random quick stats:

About 11,464 miles driven, round trip (The longest drive was from Hollandale, MN to Denver, CO, ~13.5 hours)
100 total days
33 cities/places
15 states (a total of 23 states driven through) and Canada too!
10 National Parks
14 different campsites
6 new climbing places
About 9 packs of Shin Ramen consumed
2.5 jars of PB eaten

One goal of the trip was to see more of the US. And even though I did see a lot, it felt like just the tip of the iceberg. I was constantly amazed at the geology I passed through. Everyone knows there are mountains are in Colorado and Nebraska is mostly flat, but it’s different to drive through it, to see the landscape change as the hours go by. One of the things I wish I had known before hand was the Roadside Geology Books. These books, divided by state, explain the geology along major roads. Just ask any of the people who were in my car at any given time.

The most common thing I said was. “Whoa, look at the landscape, it’s amazing! It’s SO different!” The next most frequent thing I said was “What do people do here?!” For example, in Wyoming (which is the least populated state) we would pass one house and we wouldn’t see the next one for about 30 miles. Yes, I know I sound like a total East Coast city slicker, wondering what people do, when those people are farmers, cattle ranchers, or have other jobs I’m not familiar with.

We also would pass through random geological formations, like the Craters of the Moon National Monument, where out of nowhere, large lava formations rose up out of the ground, as if Paul Bunyan and Babe his blue ox took a giant tiller and ran it through the Idaho land.

I loved the variety of landscapes I saw, from rolling hills, tall mountains, temperate forests, giant groves of Redwood trees, to hot desert heat, sandstone canyons and sticky, sweaty marshes. I had the urge to want to explore it all, and could understand the wonder of the people who first saw these landscapes. Sometimes I wondered how these cities and places could be part of the same country, it seemed so far removed from where I grew up or lived before. But yet at the same time, it’s amazing these places are in the same country, that these places, like the National Parks, are here for everyone to explore.

Pacific Ocean at Redwood State and National Parks

Over the three months of this road trip, I learned a lot of random things that maybe will help you on your next trip.

For long car drives, bring lots of snacks (that are reachable if you are driving alone ☺️) but I found especially helpful to have mints or Sweet Tarts (or any other sour candy) to give you a nice jolt whenever you are feeling tired.
Bring a long-sleeved shirt on long drives. Even with the AC on, your arm or leg might be in sunlight for hours. Covering up helps, even though it’s in the car.
Always have water with you, during hikes, drives, etc. Sometimes campsites did not have potable water, and you’ll need water to not only drink but brush your teeth, wash dishes, and cook.
Bring a plastic tote to wash camp dishes in. Every campsite had different rules, some had sinks to wash in, others wouldn’t let you wash dishes anywhere.
Go early to walk-in campsite. People love to camp out West and spots fill fast, especially in the summer.
Speaking of campsites, always have cash with you. Some sites would only take cash and a couple times we had to cobble together singles and change to make the exact fee. (And campsites definitely don’t return money if you overpay.)
When hiking, always have a map, or at least take a photo of the trails to avoid getting lost. A lot of places I went hiking did not have cell service.
Bring a wet bandana on desert hikes, to help keep the dust out of your face and to keep you cool.
Bring a hat and sunglasses. I was that Grandma that had a hat on and sunglasses if any kid of sun was peeking out. The sun is definitely stronger up high in the mountains or in desert heat.
Keep a journal of some sort. I wrote what I did for the day, list style, to help keep track of what I did when. I’d think I’d remember what I did, but I know in reality, I won’t remember what I did 3 days ago.

Well, I hope you enjoyed following along as much as I enjoyed writing about this trip!

Now, onto more adventures!

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area

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Road Trip Recap